Derambarsh (c) succeeded in persuading the French government to pass a law forcing supermarkets to donate products near their sell-by date to charities.
Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP

The councillor behind a French campaign to stamp out food waste has called on the head of the European commission and national leaders to adopt laws forcing supermarkets to give their unsold produce to charities.

Arash Derambarsh was in fighting mood on Thursday after the European parliament adopted a resolution inviting the EC to “encourage the creation of agreements” between supermarkets and organisations helping the poor and hungry.

“The ball is now in the court of the commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, and European leaders. They have a responsibility before history and before the 500 million people of Europe,” Derambarsh said after the vote.

“I now say directly to all of them, it’s now up to you. Do this, and do this before the end of the year.”

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In May Derambarsh succeeded in persuading the French government to pass a law forcing supermarkets to donate products approaching their sell-by date to charities.

Until now, some shops have been destroying unsold food with bleach. Under the new French law, supermarkets with a floor space of more than 400 sq m will face fines of up to €75,000 if they are caught throwing away or destroying unsold food fit for consumption.

On Thursday, MEPs at Strasbourg adopted a resolution on the “circular economy” into which the food waste amendment had been tabled at the last minute.

The MEP Angélique Delahaye, who introduced the amendment, said after the vote: “It’s the first step in the fight against food waste in Europe.”

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The EU wastes 89m tonnes of food a year, while an estimated 1.3bn tonnes are wasted worldwide annually.

A petition launched in seven European countries including Britain calling for support for legislation has more than 540,000 signatures.

Derambarsh, a municipal councillor for Courbevoie, north-west of Paris, and a member of Nicolas Sarkozy’s centre-right Republicans party, now aims to have the issue tabled at the United Nations later this year.

“We cannot sit back and do nothing while people in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and elsewhere are going hungry. We cannot continue to ignore this,” he said.